Understanding Alzheimer's Disease: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment

This article provides an in-depth understanding of Alzheimer's disease, including its causes, diagnosis, and treatment options. It covers the history, epidemiology, neuropathology, and diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. The article also discusses the current approaches to treating Alzheimer's disease and the ongoing research in this field.

Running head: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
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Introduction:
One of the most common causes of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. It is irreversible and
progressive brain disorder that causes damage to memory and thinking skills. Eventually,
patients with Alzheimer disease fails to carry out simple tasks. Alzheimer’s disease is the most
common cause of dementia that is observed among older adults. In this paper, the main focus
would be to understand the concept of Alzheimer along with causes and the way patients with
Alzheimer can be assisted.
According to researches the number of individuals with dementia is expected to increase
to 65 million from 35 million by the year 2030. In order to understand the numbers of people
with Alzheimer disease (AD) in a better way, the United States’ report will be efficient. In the
United States, in every nine people one is living with AD. The most common cause of AD is
dementia. Along with time, it is only expected to grow, and there will be need of primary
physicians and specialists who would encounter people with AD.
The history of the AD
According to Korolev (2014), the AD was described as a dementing condition by the
German psychiatrist and neuropathologist Dr. Alois Alzheimer, and later it became known as
AD. For the first time, the disease was recognized in a 51 years old woman named Auguste D.
she was found with a strange disease of the cerebral cortex and obtainable with progressive
language in addition with memory impairment, behavioral symptoms including hallucinations,
delusions, and paranoia, disorientation and psychological deficiency. Although the clinical
observation and pathological findings have a history consisting of the time of a century, it is
central to understanding even today in medical science.

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Introduction to Dementia:
As discussed above, the major cause of AD is Dementia which is a clinical syndrome
involving progressive deterioration of intellectual function. Dementia can be the cause of various
cognitive abilities impairment such as language, decision making, memory, attention,
orientation, and visuospanied function. Also, people with dementia are common to face cognitive
impairment along with changes in personality, social behavior, and emotional regulation. Social
behavior and cognitive behavior changes that are associated with dementia come in the way of
work, social activities and relationships. Combining all the behaviors issues, it creates an
obstacle for the individual to perform daily routine activities. The causes of dementia can be
several factors including reversible and irreversible causes. Although reversible causes are rare,
it can be a potentially treatable disease. It is also called pseudo-dementia for it can be treated and
a much lesser chance of causing AD. Irreversible dementia is more severe for it involves a
neurodegenerative and vascular process in the human brain. For AD, it is irreversible dementia
that is the most common cause that accounts for up to 70 percent of all the cases of dementia in
the United States.
Epidemiology of AD
According to Korolev (2014), it is not only in the United States but also in many other
countries that consider AD as a critical public health issue. It has significant health, social as well
as financial burden on society. It is the 5th leading cause of death observed in the aged
population in united states with about $200 billion spent annually on the direct care of an
individual that live with dementia.

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AD is a well growing multifactorial disease that does not have any single cause known. It
has several risk factors that may be modifiable or non-modifiable along with its development and
progression. The most significant factor in the development of AD is age. The possibility of
developing AD is highly associated with age which is on the verge of growth at a rapid speed.
The approximate age that can be considered as to develop AD is 65. It is also found that the
prevalence of AD is much higher in females than males that reflects women’s longer life
expectancy. Also, lower educational attainments are considered to be playing a vital role since
educational attainment is associated with cognitive reserve and resilience. Therefore, educational
attainment is one of the vital factor playing a significant role in increasing the risk of AD. Vast
pieces of pieces of evidence suggest that a significant role is played by cerebrovascular risk
factor in developing as well as the progression of AD dementia. People who have a history of
diabetes, obesity, hypertension or smoking have successfully elevated the risk of AD. Other
factors such as family history of AD involving head injury with loss of consciousness and with
first-degree relatives may be a risk factor for the progression and development of AD.
Neuropathology of AD:
A progressive neurodegenerative brain disorder is an AD that can cause large disturbance
in normal brain function and structure. AD is considered as the progressive loss of cortical
neurons at the cellular level of AD. It is particularly pyramidal cells that mediate higher
cognitive function. According to substantial evidence, AD can cause synaptic dysfunction initial
in the disease process where disrupting any communication within neural circuits that are
essential for cognitive functions and memory. The degeneration is related to AD start in the
medial temporal lobe, especially in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. Any damage to these
specific areas may result in deficits in memory and learning capabilities which are considered as

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the early symptoms of AD. As the degree of the disease increases, degeneration tends to spread
throughout the temporal association parietal and cortex areas. When the neuropathology is
discussed, the AD has a vast area to cover.
Diagnosis of AD
According to Dubois et al. (2014), doctors use various methods and tools in order to help
determine whether a person faced with memory issues possess any ‘possible AD’ or ‘Probable
AD’. In order to diagnose AD, the first step involves an interview or interrogation regarding the
patient’s memory. Doctor asks the patient about overall health and past medical report. The
ability to carry out the daily routine involving behavior and personality. The medical
professional would conduct tests of memory, attention, problem solving, counting and language
in order to understand the capacity of the patient. Standard medical tests for example blood and
urine tests would be carried out by the medical professional to determine if there are any more
possible causes of the problem. Brains scans are most significant to confirm dementia such as
computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI). The tests will ensure the medical professionals to get the vivid picture of the
patient’s memory and other cognitive functions. It is important to understand that the symptoms
are due to AD and not any other cause such as a tumor, sleep disturbances or stroke. Some AD is
reversible, and some conditions can become treatable which will aid preserve daily functioning
for a while. However, the underlying disease process may not be stopped or reversed. Also, early
detection of AD help the families plan for the future taking care of financial as well as legal
matters, it will help families plan safety issues, develop a support network, learn regarding the
living arrangements and participate in clinical trials that are focused to test possible new
treatments for AD.

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Treatment for AD
AD is a complex disease that is unlikely for any drug or intervention to treat it
successfully. At present, the current approaches intend to help people maintain their mental
function, stability for more extended period, manage behavioral symptoms and delay the
symptoms. According to Dubois et al. (2014), in the current situation, researchers only hope to
develop therapies targeting specific molecular, genetic and cellular mechanism in order to stop
the actual cause of the disease. In maintaining mental function, several medications are approved
by United States Food and drug administration to treat AD symptoms. Managing behavior
involves common behavioral symptoms of AD such as sleepless, wandering, agitation,
aggression, and anxiety. Drugs and the reasons are being investigated in order to find the causes
of these behaviors that lead to AD. Apart from the mentioned details, AD research has developed
to such an extent that scientists can look beyond treating symptoms in order to contemplate
regarding addressing the underlying disease process. Several possible treatments are being
investigated and tried in the clinical trials. Scientists are doing research that would develop
possible interventions such as immunization therapy, drug therapy and physical activity and
treatments for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
Conclusion:
Today, the world’s population is increasing at a rapid speed and even the aging
population. One of the most common diseases that is faced by the old age population today is
Alzheimer, and it is growing at a rapid speed as well. However, researchers are working in order
to find the best possible solutions to AD. It is mostly for the families since they need to cope
with the patient with AD. It is not part of normal aging however it is a growing disease and need
support from the people surrounding them.

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References:
Dubois, B., Feldman, H. H., Jacova, C., Hampel, H., Molinuevo, J. L., Blennow, K., ... & Cappa,
S. (2014). Advancing research diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease: the IWG-2
criteria. The Lancet Neurology, 13(6), 614-629.
Korolev, I. O. (2014). Alzheimer’s disease: a clinical and basic science review. Medical Student
Research Journal, 4, 24-33.